Management Practices of the Selected Catering Services Essay Sample

Thomas Hansen says our life is always full of some special events. Lots of holidays, birthdays, anniversaries and weddings require lots of strength from the ones who host them. Just think of all that cooking for as many as twenty, fifty or even a hundred guests. Holidays are the events on the eve of which kids begin jumping of joy and adults, by the way women mostly, begin going crazy cooking at their kitchens and counting the hours till the holiday begins and all guests come. Should a holiday be an endurance test for a woman in your family? Sure not. Catering services are the magicians and real help for people to enjoy their holidays without that running about markets for buying hundreds of ingredients and sleepless nights in order to be in time with your dishes. Besides the convenience of food catering services for all types of parties their availability also solves such a problem as thinking over how to cook this or that dish. The thing is that respectable catering companies that have been on the market for rather a long time tend to hire professional cookers only. Thus they achieve the high quality of cooking and the customers are always satisfied with their ideas.

1.1 Statement Of The Problem
General Objective
This study aims to identify the Vibar’s Catering, Carlos & Cathy and Ms. Quicky Catering operational strategies used by the catering business in Balanga City, Bataan. And the specifically this study aims to answer the following questions: Specific Problem

1. What is the Profile of the catering business
a)Classification of catering
b)Type of Ownership
c)Number of employees
d)Length of operation

2. What are the common problems encountered by the catering business?
a) Food safety and Sanitation
b) Equipment
c) Transportation
d) Food Quality

3. What are the operational strategies practiced by the caterers in relation to:
a) Promotion
b) Marketing
c) Safety Precautions

1.2 Conceptual Design

The first frame says that we need to see how they catered to customers or events. We want to know the business profile of the selected catering business. And the respondents eval

The second frame illustrates to identify the fast operational strategies and also to identify of the best catering business in Balanga City. Like Vibar’s Catering, Carlos & Cathy and Ms. Quicky Catering how they handled the catering here in Balanga, Bataan.

The third frame
Catering is the planned service of food and beverages – in contrast to restaurants, where food and beverages are generally served on demand. The opportunity for catering services to provide planned food and beverages is far greater than it is for restaurants. Catering services is one of the most dynamic business groups in the food and beverage industry.

Catering business depends on the establishment and continued practice of food and beverage operational controls. Controls are put into place to guarantee that established standards of quality, service, presentation are met daily. Catering Management includes issues such as quality service and standards training. Establishing a level of service quality and delivery is a competitive factor in today’s business environment. It includes dealing with complaints, damage in the property and missing equipment’s.

1.2 Hypothesis
There is no significant relationship among the three catering business of the Vibar’s Catering, Carlos & Cathy and Ms. Quicky Catering.

1.3 Significance of the Study
This study will be beneficial for the customers, to be able to know what to expect from a globally catering business with regards to its performance.

And this study can also help the employees, the catering business to self-evaluate their performance and be responsive to it.
It will help the management and customer relationship thru an open interaction. And also for the government, to develop strategies of catering services.

1.4 Scope and Delimitation of the study
This study focuses on three selected catering services in Balanga, Bataan. It will try to discover issues on customer satisfaction, quality of services, food services and environment by giving questionnaires to the respondents. These include the target market, and an analysis to the competition. It also study new theme and menu ideas that can create customer interest.

1.5 Definition of terms
Bataan – A province in the Philippines occupying the whole of the Bataan Peninsula in Luzon. The province is a part of Central Luzon region. Business – An organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Catering – The business of providing foodservice at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, public house (pub), or other location. Events – Occurrence happening at a determinable time and place, with or without the participation of human agents. It may be a part of a chain of occurrences as an effect of a preceding occurrence and as the cause of a succeeding occurrence. Management – The act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively. Service – A type of economic activity that is intangible; is not stored and does not result in ownership. A service is consumed at the point of sale. Services are one of the two key components of economics, the other being goods.

Chapter 2

Review of Related Literature and Studies
The review provides a discussion of selected inland caterers in Vibar’s Catering, Carlos & Cathy and Ms. Quicky Catering. This chapter includes the following Related Literature and Studies, which displays various articles and readings related to the variables of the research.

Related Readings
According to Nancy Loman Scanlon, PhD Catering services is one of the most dynamic business groups in the food and beverage industry. The opportunity for catering services to provide planned food and beverages is far greater than it is for restaurants. Many restaurants offer catering services in addition in to on demand food and beverage functions. Global companies such as ARAMARK and Marriot Sedexho provide planned food service to business, industry and others. Catering business management includes issues such as quality –service and standard training. Establishing a level of service quality and delivery is a competitive factor in today’s business environment. Catering menu management requires an understanding of menu development and menu pricing. Accurate pricing concepts that reflect customer needs and perceived values for catering menus are necessary for ongoing business development. From the caterers viewpoint, off premise caterers must plan menus the can be prepared successfully at the client’s location.

For example, foods to be fried should not be cooked in unventilated spaces, like small kitchens in high rise office buildings. On-premise caterers are not as limited in this regard and they are generally supported by built in equipment that can support a wider variety of menus. Planning, Organizing, Execute and Control, these are the four basic functions of managing a catering business. To plan, a caterer must visualize in advance all of the aspect of catered event and document the plans so they readily understood by the client and easily executed by the staff. Caterer should have the ability to communicate with Clients and Staff, listening is the key to good communication with clients. It is exciting to be in the catering business, competition is keen, but the sharp personable caterer with good ideas, firs rate members and an eye of the bottom line can build a very profitable business.

Related Literature
The catering profession as we know it in the twenty-first century has a long and intriguing history, the beginnings of which are found in the ancient civilizations. The Egyptian nobility filled their tombs with food stuffs and cookware to supply them in the next world, simultaneously covering the walls with murals designed to record food preparation styles and table settings. From the records and art of the Greeks and Romans come depictions of banqueting scenes filled with food presentations, table customs, decorative arts, and recipes detailing a range of foodstuffs startling its variety.

The history of the food ways of the ancient Greeks and romans provide rich traditions on which European and North American societies have developed their food preparation and service styles. Feasting is an American tradition dating to the social ceremonies of many of the Native American tribes. Early written records of naturalists and explorers such as John Bartram and George Caitlin provide a fascinating glimpse of the use of food in ceremonies in Native American societies. A ceremonial feast called a potlatch was held by tribes in the American Northwest to mark important occasions such as a marriage or the succession to a chieftainship. The rules of potlatch required the host to provide, as a sign of conspicuous wealth, the best-quality foods available in quantities too great to be eaten by the number of invited guests.

Related Studies
“The quality from aspect of the business economy represents capability for the product to satisfy the given needs of the customer, at the same time to express to what extend the same are satisfied.” (Bakić, 1988)

According R. Obraz “under quality of products…are implied such particularities that can satisfy specific need. In addition, it is all the same for what needs it is about and how does it satisfy the particular product, if not directly as a subject for enjoyment or directly as a means for production. (Obraz, 1971) When leading the business politics for quality of product or service, almost all companies from the area of tourism and catering intend on the market to present a product or service with better quality. However, they should look after the efficient and effective working (i.e. to find optimal quality), and for the target group of customers for which the product or service is intended.

On the other hand, in terms of great offer of high quality products and services which appear daily on the market, as well as the raise of quality criteria on the side of the consumer-tourists, every company must constantly seek to improve the quality of the products and services and to guarantee consumers the top quality of their own products and services

Given the fact that the conditions for competition of companies on the tourist or catering market in terms of attractive, communicative and incoming factors are relatively the same, the quality of satisfying the tourist needs gets larger importance. However, the fact is that the catering product is complex and different from the classic product. Because it is mounted by every customer-tourist individually and for himself, it differs by every individual. With the vertical and horizontal differentiation of the product/service quality, companies seeks to completely satisfy the need of the customers-tourists.

The quality of the catering product is improving by using the creativity of the employees and by introducing something new in the catering program. It achieves bigger satisfaction by the customers-tourists, because their desires are in greater percentage, if not fully satisfied (depending from their expectations). Needs are not only reduced to fundamental services i.e accommodation services, food and transport, but for quality stay in the tourist destination, the range that companies offer from the area of tourism and catering has to be on a higher level. Great number of bidders of products and services, that with their different combination create products that are more wanted on the market today. In France for example programs offer: holiday with tennis, holiday with golf, or in Germany – riding horse plus hotel; hunting plus hotel; golf and hotel etc.

Because, the ways of satisfying the complex desires and needs of the customers-tourists are very different, employees should on a more creative way to enable their satisfaction to be bigger. With dedication special attention to guest, the type of congratulating birthday or festive by sending cards, or wishing good night, will enable them to have unforgettable holiday. Great effect is achieved when the guest will be given a present in the form of souvenir typical for the object or the surrounding, when the guest leaves the object etc. All those trivial details, small attention, carry great effects in the company’s work, because they influence on improving the catering product quality. The study offers the past research conducted. Also this is the first research focuses on the improvement or upgrading the problems encountered in catering of the business in terms of tips and practices by the caterers.

Chapter 3
Methodology
This chapter gives ideas about the research design which are the overall research plan, the respondents of the study will give an idea on how the sample are being acquired from the total population, the instrument of the study which would help in getting the information for the subject being studied and what instrument would be used in getting information, establishing the validity and reliability of instrument determined if the instrument is suitable for data gathering and last is the statistical method to be used to solve the different questions in Chapter I. 3.1 Research Design

For the given variables in Chapter I, the descriptive analysis was used in this study. Descriptive analysis involves observing and describing the behavior of a subject without influencing it in any way. It involves numerous amount of interpretation of the meaning or significance of what is being discussed, not just mere data gathering and tabulation of data. According to Lewis (2003), descriptive research is conducted to illustrate and determine patterns or characteristics of variables in particular instances or events. In the statement of specific objectives some of the more appropriate verbs to use are describe, determine, analyze, explain, define and illustrate. The researchers adopted the descriptive research method because it mainly determines the nature of the prevailing conditions, and seeks descriptions of activities, and person. The researcher adamantly believes that this technique would generate the indispensable data and information relevant to the undertaking being investigated. The researcher construes and presents evaluation established on the collected data, where findings, conclusions, and recommendations are drawn. Trend analysis is also involved in the research, in which the researcher gathers data of the past and present information about the topic. The result will give idea on what should be applied on the future. 3.2 Determination of Sample Design

This study will include twenty predetermined respondents who were able to visit the selected all catering business selected by the researchers; the Vibar’s Catering, Carlos & Cathy and Ms. Quicky Catering. These are located in Balanga City respectively. Each researcher is assigned to interview representatives from each catering in Bataan, depending on the proximity of their residence to the catering business place. 3. 3 Instrument

The researcher acquired two research instruments which best suit to obtain the necessary information for this study: survey-questionnaire with unstructured interview and secondary data collection.

According to Del Rosario (2003), questionnaire survey is defined as a method of data collection that has gained popularity over the years because of the great deal of valuable information on what people think about certain issues, products, policies, or events. Questionnaire is used to measure knowledge levels, opinions, attitudes, beliefs, ideas, feelings and perception. It provides an array of response categories from which the respondents will either choose or base their response. 3.4 Data Gathering Procedure

The questionnaire itself was self-administered; thus, the researchers asked for their adviser’s help for the verification and finalization of the research instrument used. Prior to the dissemination of the questionnaires to the respondents, the researchers asked their adviser for time equity of the research instrument for it would also add a value of validity to the questionnaire. The researchers then personally distributed the questionnaires to their respondents after all the necessary adjustments were made to the questionnaire. The researchers had also explained the instructions stated in the questionnaire to the respondents. The questionnaires were retrieved after two weeks. An unstructured interview was consumed for some clarifications regarding the respondent’s answers and for added information. This had been done after the questionnaires have been all received. 3.5 Presentation and Analysis of Data

After all the researchers then personally distributed the questionnaires to their respondents. We will gather all the collected data and investigate the results. Where important findings will present in a table, correlations between survey and individual interviews . Highlight and discuss the important findings in the text reference section. To determine the clarity of the items in the questionnaire that served as competent report.

3.6 Statistical Treatment
In preparation for the application if suitable statistical tool for this study of data significant to the study were then gathered, finalized and tabulated by the researcher. Since the researcher was after the significant relationship between the stated variables in the study, the researcher made use of the following statistical tool: For the description of the respondents, the researcher will use the frequency distribution. It is a table containing the categories, scope, values or class intervals and their frequency occurrence. This includes the age, gender and economic status (Sanchez, 2002) Another statistical tool used was the percentage composition. It is the method of standardizing for size, which indicates the frequency of occurrence of category per 100%. The formula is as follows: